Burning Love and Haunting Past
by KoibitoAnime
Summary: Nikki and Luis come home from the summer after finishing their sophomore year at Purdue, but when Nikki is attacked in her own home, Luis starts to worry who is coming after her. Everyone is at risk when a new enemy appears... Takes place after Chain Reactions. Disclaimer: I do not own the Perfect Chemistry novels.
1. Chapter 1

**Nikki POV**

I left my musty smelling apartment about 10 a.m.; getting on the highway I headed north, back home to good ole Chicago. For the next hour and a half I was lost in my thoughts.

It's been two years since Luis and I graduated from Fairfield High School. We both applied to Purdue and with a lot of luck we got in. We didn't see each other much because of our schedules being completely opposite of each other plus work which equals no alone time. With our sophomore year finally over, we were both heading back to Chicago for the summer. I was itching to have some alone time with my man. Especially since tomorrow's my birthday; Luis promised me a special night, just me and him. A shiver of anticipation runs down my spine at the many thoughts of what we might be doing. I had to wait until tomorrow though. Tonight I was hanging with Brittany and Kiara, a girl's night. Kiara was getting married soon. Carlos had proposed 2 and a half years ago, but they decided to wait since he was overseas. Kiara could not find a dress for the life of her though, so we decided to spend tonight dress shopping.

I finally got off the highway onto the exit titled _Chicago._ I smiled gleefully. Finally home! But, my fuel gauge blinked at me reminding me I needed gas. It didn't take long to find a gas station. I pulled in to the nearest one. I parked at the pump and got out, starting to pump gas into my car. I started to look around the gas station. A suspicious black mustang was parked at the pump across from me. A group of 4 guys wearing all black were in a circle talking softly to each other. They obviously didn't want anyone hearing what they were saying. One guy turned, returning the nozzle back to the pump, revealing a black _LB_ tattoo on his upper bicep. A guy with black sunglasses leaning on the car lowered his glasses looking at me. His eyes widened, and then he smiled slyly at me. I hurried and put the nozzle back in the pump and jumped in my car. I didn't even grab my recipe. I started my car and spun away. I looked in my review mirror to see him at the pump I was just at. He had my recipe in hand. He looked at my car and smiled viciously. _Who the hell was that? Why would he recognize me? _A million questions buzzed through my mind as I pulled drastically into traffic. I had to get away from here. A pulled out in front of a car, the honked their horn and gave me the finger. I didn't care. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I hyperventilated.

_Calm down, Nikki. Nothing's going to happen_, _maybe you're just overreacting? _

I am totally right. Nothing to worry about. I lean back and let out a long sigh. A few minutes later I was pulling into my driveway. I looked at the clock on my radio. 12:29 p.m. I'm even early… by a minute. I grab my purse and jump out of the car. My parents are already heading out towards my car. My mom comes to me first hugging me.

"Oh sweetie, we missed you so much! How's school? Are you doing okay? Any creepy stalkers?"

"Mom I'm fine, school's fine." I said as she pulled back. Her eyes shimmered with tears.

"I just can't help it! You've grown so much!" She says pulling me in for another hug.

I give her the moment. She finally pulls back and wipes her eyes. "I'm good now. You can help your father with the bags now."

I give her one final smile before grabbing some of my bags from the trunk and hurrying inside. I was meeting Kiara and Brittany in an hour. That gave me just enough time to unpack some, change, and talk to my mom.

* * *

"Ouhhhh what about this one?" Brittany said holding up a satin dress.

"Uhh do you see how deep that neck line is? With how big my boobs are they'd pop out." Kiara said.

"Oh stop being so picky! Carlos would love it!" Brittany said laughing

A bright red blush covered Kiara's cheeks at the mention of Carlos; she let out a nervous chuckle. I laughed along with her. We had been dress shopping for 2 hours; Kiara still could not find anything. This was our third dress shop. I didn't know how much we had left in us until we would give up.

Kiara let out a long sigh. "I need Tuck here, he gives the best fashion advice." Tuck or Kiara's friend from Colorado. I had never met him, but it seemed like she really missed him. I put my hand on her shoulder. She looked at me.

"Don't worry we'll find something." She nodded at me, and then started looking around again.

I started to go through more racks of dresses. I pulled out a Ivory dress. "Kiara?" She turned to me. "What about this?" I turned it to her. It was an Ivory fit and flare gown with Champagne beaded lace that slim the length of the body. Her eyes widened and she smiled. Brittany was the first to pipe in.

"Oh! Try it on!" I handed it to Kiara and she hurried to the dressing room. Brittany helped her into the dress. When she came out, she looked stunning. Brittany and Kiara were both already tearing up. Tears choked in my throat.

"You look beautiful. I think that's definitely the one."

Brittany jumped with excitement. "Carlos will love it!" Kiara smiled ear to ear.

* * *

I looked in the mirror. I had spent an hour curling my hair to perfection and making sure I looked perfect for Luis. I made a mental check list. Legs? _Smooth as a baby's behind. _Hair? _Perfect. _Make-up? _Flawless. _Sexy black dress that hugged my curves and drove Luis crazy? _Check. _Everything is falling right into place. Yesterday flew by after Kiara got her dress. We visited Luis' Mama and spent some time there catching up. I loved Luis' Mama; she has been so strong and loving all these years even with all her son's getting into trouble. I admired her for that.

The next day, I had spent the day with my parents. They got me a new tiffany's necklace for my birthday and we went out to lunch. They knew I wanted to spend the night with Luis, and since they finally warmed up to Luis, they left us the house all to ourselves for the night. My parents could be so cool sometimes. The doorbell rang. _Oh no. _All of a sudden I got really nervous. Luis was here.

_Don't just stand here! Move! _Right. He was standing outside. I hurried downstairs. I opened the front door. Luis turned to me and whistled in approval.

"Hey"

"Hey. I love what I see, _mi chava." _ He said coming in and grabbing my hips. I looped my fingers through his belt loops, pulling him closer. He took both of his hands and cupped my cheeks. I felt a spark as our lips met. His soft, warm lips gently brushed over mine for a moment, then dipped into my lips. I heard a soft moan come from his lips as I deepened the kiss. His tongue parted my lips and glided with mine. It was like a long tango. His lips moved from mine, exploring down my jaw to my neck; moving to my shoulder as he pushed down the strap of my dress. I moaned his name, but it came out barely a whisper. He kicked the door closed and pushed me back. We didn't stop until we hit the railing and stopped. His lips moved back to mine; we started making out again slowly. His kisses were gentle, but hungry; wanting more and more. I put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer as he grabbed my hips and pulled my legs around his waist. I tore my lips from him, which took a lot to do.

"Luis.." I breathed his name. Trying to get his attention. He continued to kiss my jaw and down my neck. I moaned. "Luis.." My hands gripped his shirt. "Stop.." He groaned and nuzzled his head in my neck. I laughed.

"We still have to eat dinner…" He groaned again. He started to trace circle right above my butt.

"It can wait.."His voice sounded thick and hoarse. Full of emotion. It made me shiver. He started kissing my neck, moving up and nibbling on my ear. Well maybe it could wait..


	2. Chapter 2

**Nikki POV**

Luis had dozed off after we made love. I leaned over him, resting my head on his shoulder making circles on his solid, bare chest. Luis was gorgeous, and the only problem was he knew it. His cockiness was infuriating sometimes. Being right here in Luis' arms made me chipper. My stomach growled, reminding me how hungry I was. I slipped on underwear, shorts, my bra and a tank before heading downstairs to start dinner. As I changed I heard Luis stir at the new found emptiness of the bed. He didn't wake though, just settled right back in. I thought I'd let him sleep until dinner was done.

I headed downstairs and started getting things out to make dinner. Ever since I had talked to my parents about not ignoring our heritage, we had done more.. Mexican things. So tonight I was making authentic enchiladas. Mmmm… I laid out some pans and bowls, working quietly so I didn't wake Luis. I went over to the sink to wash my hands before I started. I heard a squeak of footsteps on the floor. I turned and looked around. Nothing.

"Luis?" I called out. No reply. Hm, maybe it was nothing. I turned and grabbed a towel next to the sink. I looked up at the window to see the reflection of a guy in a black ski mask. My eyes widened as panic struck through me. I quickly turned. He lunged forward at me. I moved to the side, but was pinned at the counter. I tried to scream, but he grabbed me, one hand at my mouth the other around my neck, a knife in hand. I started to panic again. My arms flinging and screaming through his hand. I knocked over a glass bowl hoping to get Luis' attention. I heard my attacker curse. He held the knife closer to my neck.

"Quiet, you little bitch."

I gulped. I heard a shuffle come from upstairs, then "Nik? You okay?"

My attacker cursed again and pushed me towards the door, his arms still holding me. He opened the sliding glass door and tried pushing me through. I kicked my legs out and refused to go through. He cursed.

"Damn it. Go! Son of a bitch." He pushed the knife to my cheek. I felt a warm trickle down my cheek. "Move or I will kill you." I moved my legs and he started out the door, but was cut off by a yell.

"NIK!" I recognized the voice. Luis. My muscles relaxed with relief. My attacker turned, his eyes widened when he saw Luis. He threw me quickly onto the ground. I tried to give up, but my arms gave up and I fell back down. My head made a loud _Crack!_ As it the cold concrete. I held my hands to my head. My vision blurred, but I saw my attacker running to the woods; a familiar _LB _tattoo on his arm. _What did the LB want with me? Were they trying to get to Luis? _

I saw the kitchen light shining out to the pitch black night. Luis' tall, lean figure came through the doorway in a sprint, but stopped abruptly. I heard him curse in Spanish. His eyes quickly met mine. In one quick movement, he ran to me and scooped me up in his arms.

"Nik? Nikki? Can you hear me? Are you okay?" Panic and concern filled his voice. "Nik, I'm calling the police, just hold on." He laid me down softly, then ran off. I heard his panicked voice in the house. He ran back out to me, phone in hand.

"Come on, Nik. Talk to me." I could see the tears sparkling in his eyes. I wanted to reassure him I was fine, but the words were stuck in my throat. All I could hear was the pounding in my head, until there was nothing…

I woke to a warm, soft hand brushing my hair out of my face. It felt reassuring and strong. My eyes fluttered open. Luis' tall lean figure blurred, but came into place. I saw the distress and concern in his eyes as he let out a shaky breath. His gaze met mine; I gave him a small smile. A single tear escaped his eyes from either relieve or happiness, maybe both. I took his hand in mine and started to sit up. His arm that's wrapped around my shoulders helped support my weight. I held my head in my free hand, the pounding was annoying.

I groaned. "What happened?"

"Do you not remember?"

I tried to recall what happened, but it was fuzzy. "It's all fuzzy."

He frowned. "I woke up to a crash coming from the kitchen. I thought you had just dropped something, but when I came downstairs to check on you…" He clenched his fist. Anger and frustration washed over his face. "A guy in a ski mask had you. He was halfway out the door when I came down. He almost took you, and what was I doing? Sleeping, completely oblivious to him sneaking in here. I'm so stupid!"

"Hey.. don't give yourself such a hard time. It's not your fault." I placed my hand on his cheek and touched it him softly.

"He almost walked out of here with you! Not only that, but you're hurt." Another tear escaped his eye. He shook his head. "The police are almost here. Are you alright?"

I nodded. "I'll need some help up."

He nodded. He took my hand and using his arm around my waist to support me he helped me up. My head spun. "Whoa.. too fast." He stopped for a moment. When the rush stopped, I looked at him. Worry and frustration were painted in his eyes.

After a moment, we headed to the living room. As we got there, sirens filled the air. Not long after there was a knock at the door. Luis helped me to the couch, and then answered the door. A familiar voice talked with Luis before coming in. I turned to see Reyes with another cop standing in the landing. I shifted my gaze to the floor, rubbing my arms with my hands.

"Nikki," he says walking over to me, taking a seat in the chair next the couch I'm sitting on, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Luis sat next to me, putting his arm around me. I turned to him, he gave me a reassuring smile and a quick nod. I turned to Reyes and summed up what happened. It slowly came back to me after I woke up. I recalled everything I could. Reyes was a good listener. He sat there watching me closely, nodding his head every once in a while, taking quick notes.

After I was done he asked, "Do you recollect any details of who attacked you? Clothes? Facial features? Tattoos?"

Something clicked when he said tattoos. I snapped my fingers. "H-He had a tattoo!"

Reyes looked at me studying me closely. "Of?"

"It was _LB." _

Reyes' face filled with shock and disbelief. I could almost hear the millions of questions circling in his mind. Luis jumped up, both of his fists clenching at his sides.

"Damn it! This is all my fault! They shouldn't be after you! Why the hell would they be?" Rage and frustration fill his voice.

I get up, a little too fast. My head spins. I start to fall, but I catch myself on the arm rest of the couch. Luis and Reyes both jump to catch me.

"We should get you to the ambulance. We can finish talking later." He eyes Luis. Though still furious, Luis merely nods.


End file.
